This invention relates to a blown plastic container that is adapted for the packaging of a single serve quantity of a liquid, and to a package incorporating a filled container of the foregoing character. More particularly, this invention relates to a container of the foregoing character that is suited for the packaging of a juice or other beverage that is introduced into the package while hot, and to a package that is sealed and capped after being filled with such a beverage while the beverage is still hot.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,105 (Krischnakumar et al.), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, describes a hot-fillable plastic container that is blown from a preform of a thermoplastic material, specifically, polyethylene teraphetalete (PET), alone or in combination with layers of other materials. The container of the ""105 patent is taught as being well-suited for the packaging of beverages in multi-serve quantities, for example, 64 oz. quantities.
While packages of the type described in the aforesaid ""105 patent have proven to be quite successful in the packaging of large, multi-serve quantities of hot-filled fruit juices and other beverages, such packages, which often have integral, gripable handles, are unduly complex in configuration to be used for the packaging of a substantially smaller quantity of a hot-filled beverage, for example, a single serve quantity of 8 fl. oz.
According to the present invention there is provided a blown plastic container that is well-suited for the packaging of a single serve quantity, for example, 8 oz., of a hot-filled juice or other beverage, and a package that incorporates such a container that is sealed and capped after filling while the beverage is still at an elevated temperature. The container according to the present invention is generally circular in cross-section throughout its vertical extent, except for a plurality of spaced, configured vacuum panels that are disposed in a circular array in a major body portion of the container to accommodate partial collapsing of the wall of the container under a partial vacuum resulting from the cooling of the filled beverage after the container is sealed and capped after filling while the beverage is still hot.
The container of the present invention is preferably molded from a parison or blank that is injection molded with a plurality of layers of thermoplastic materials. Preferably, polypropylene (PPE) is used as the primary material in such an arrangement, with virgin PPE being used both as the radially innermost and radially outermost of such layers, with a mixture of regrind (mostly PPE) and virgin PPE as the main structural layer next to and sealingly joined directly to the radially outermost surface of the radially innermost surface of the virgin PPE layers. Because many beverages to be packaged in blown plastic containers are oxygen-sensitive, a package according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention incorporates an oxygen-barrier material, such as ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVA), between the regrind/virgin PPE layer and the radially outermost PPE layer, with layers of adhesive between the oxygen-barrier layer and the layers adjacent to it to prevent the delamination of layers of the container due to sealing incompatibility between the barrier layer and the opposed PPE layers.
Because a package according to the present invention uses PPE as it main strength-imparting layers, rather than PET, as do many prior art multi-layer hot-fillable beverage containers, it is unnecessary to use a complex bottom structure in such a container, at least for a single serve capacity container, because PPE retains more of its original strength at filling temperatures, typically approximately 180xc2x0 F., than the cost-competitive grades of PET. Elimination of the bottom sealing ribs typical of blown plastic PET containers for hot-filled beverages reduces the cost of the molds used to blow such containers and helps to reduce the time it takes to manufacture such molds.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a blown plastic container that is well-suited for the packaging of a single serve quantity of a hot-filled liquid, and to provide a package that incorporates such a container that is sealed and capped after filling while the beverage is still hot. More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a container of the aforesaid character, and an associated package, that is well-suited for the packaging of a juice or other beverage that is subject to oxygen-degradation if the container does not incorporate a suitable barrier to migration of oxygen into the container.
For a further understanding of the present invention and the objects thereof, attention is directed to the drawings and the following brief description thereof, to the detailed description of the invention and to the appended claims.